It was 14 years ago when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s bare breast to the world. The scandal, broadcast live on CBS during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, became widely known as Nipplegate. The accidental slip seen ’round the world—wardrobe malfunction or publicity stunt?—generated unprecedented controversy, with commentators viewing it as a sign of decreasing morality in American culture; not long after the event, the FCC increased the fine per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000.

The incident had few repercussions for Timberlake—he went on to perform three more times for the NFL’s career-making halftime show and received relatively little bad press—but it temporarily derailed Jackson’s career, with the iconic singer finding herself banned from both hosting and attending the Grammy’s that year, and losing thousands of record sales. But now, nearly a decade and a half later, it’s time for Jackson to get hers. Tonight, the pop royalty icon and 52-year-old mother of Eissa, 1, will return to prime time, joining the likes of Cher and Prince as a recipient of the Billboard Icon Award for an extraordinary career that has generated 11 studio albums, with more than 100 number one hits, among them, “Control,” “Rhythm Nation,” and “All for You.”

And yet, in the years that have passed since that 2004 tabloid-fueled scandal, it has become an equally important part of her legacy—one that feels almost prescient. After all, ever since Jackson first freed the nipple, whether intentionally or not, a bevy of influencers have taken the look from the rarified confines of the fashion runway to the street. These days, it’s par for the course to see Kim Kardashian West, Bella Hadid, and Kendall Jenner step out in entirely sheer day clothes sans bra; most recently, the latter supermodel flaunted the free-going style at the Cannes Film Festival in France, a country that has embraced the female breast for decades. Rihanna, no doubt a fan of Ms. Jackson’s, has ditched coverlets on more than one occasion, for music videos and red carpets alike—as have other musicians at recent, nationally televised events.

Social media, too, has done much for the burgeoning body-positivity movement, not to mention the anti-slut shaming conversation—although, it’s worth mentioning that the female nipple (and not its male counterpart) is still banned on Instagram. As a new generation of young women rises up to reclaim their bodies, it’s only natural to wonder if that last irrational bastion of censorship won’t one day fall, too. Earlier this year, model Adwoa Aboah lent her body and gravelly British accent to the provocative and political short film Define Beauty: Nipples. With areolae at every turn in the video, one can’t help but feel for the female nipple—hidden as if it was a bodily defect instead of a direct source of life—and emboldened to fight back.

Nearly a decade and a half after Nipplegate, the world we live in has changed. If anything, seen in retrospect through the lens of a culture that is grappling with the #MeToo moment, the sight of Timberlake as he tears off Jackson’s bralette in that infamous Super Bowl footage feels far more jarring than seeing Jackson’s breast itself. The price to pay as a feminist bellwether is often steep. But tonight, there will no longer be any denying her: Janet Jackson is an icon in many more ways than one.